"Letter to a Phoenix" is a science fiction short story by American writer Fredric Brown, about immortality. It was first published in Astounding Science Fiction in August 1949.
A 180,000-year-old man writes a letter to humanity as a whole, explaining the lessons he has learned while observing the rise and fall of multiple civilizations.
Literary scholar Jack Seabrook has described it as "(t)hought-provoking rather than exciting" and "perhaps (the) best" of Brown's stories focusing on "social or political commentary". [1]
Vernor Vinge has said that he was "fascinated" by the story, and that it was the direct inspiration for the 1975 story "The Peddler's Apprentice" which he co-wrote with his then-wife, Joan D. Vinge. [2]
James Nicoll, writing in 2018, felt that the story "has not aged well." [3]
Vernor Steffen Vinge is an American science fiction author and retired professor. He taught mathematics and computer science at San Diego State University. He is the first wide-scale popularizer of the technological singularity concept and perhaps the first to present a fictional "cyberspace". He has won the Hugo Award for his novels A Fire Upon the Deep (1992), A Deepness in the Sky (1999), Rainbows End (2006), and novellas Fast Times at Fairmont High (2002), and The Cookie Monster (2004).
Fredric Brown was an American science fiction, fantasy, and mystery writer. He is known for his use of humor and for his mastery of the "short short" form—stories of 1 to 3 pages, often with ingenious plotting devices and surprise endings. Humor and a postmodern outlook carried over into his novels as well. One of his stories, "Arena", was adapted to a 1967 episode of the American television series Star Trek.
Joan D. Vinge is an American science fiction author. She is known for such works as her Hugo Award–winning novel The Snow Queen and its sequels, her series about the telepath named Cat, and her Heaven's Chronicles books. She also is the author of The Random House Book of Greek Myths (1999).
A Deepness in the Sky is a science fiction novel by American writer Vernor Vinge. Published in 1999, the novel is a loose prequel to his earlier novel A Fire Upon the Deep (1992). The title is coined by one of the story's main characters in a debate, in a reference to the hibernating habits of his species and to the vastness of space.
James Raymond Frenkel is an American editor and agent of science fiction, fantasy, mysteries, thrillers, historical fiction, and other books, formerly for Tom Doherty Associates. He has edited numerous prominent authors such as Vernor Vinge, Joan D. Vinge, Frederik Pohl, Andre Norton, Loren D. Estleman, Dan Simmons, Jack Williamson, Timothy Zahn, Marie Jakober and Greg Bear. His agency clients include John C. Wright and L. Jagi Lamplighter. He and his wife, author Joan D. Vinge lived in Madison, Wisconsin for many years, but have moved to Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
"Knock" is a science fiction short story by American writer Fredric Brown. It begins with a piece of Flash fiction based on the following passage by Thomas Bailey Aldrich:
Imagine all human beings swept off the face of the earth, excepting one man. Imagine this man in some vast city, New York or London. Imagine him on the third or fourth day of his solitude sitting in a house and hearing a ring at the door-bell!
The Witling is a 1976 science fiction novel by American writer Vernor Vinge, about the planet Giri, whose humanoid inhabitants, the Azhiri, are able to teleport. This ability varies from person to person: those without the talent at all are called witlings and are the lowest class of person in Azhiri society.
The Collected Stories of Vernor Vinge is a collection of science fiction short stories by American writer Vernor Vinge. The stories were first published from 1966 to 2001, and the book contains all of Vinge's published short stories from that period except "True Names" and "Grimm's Story".
The 60th World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon), also known as ConJose, was held on 29 August–2 September 2002 at the McEnery Convention Center, the Fairmont San Jose, and the Hilton San Jose & Towers in San Jose, California, United States.
Beyond Singularity is a science fiction anthology edited by American writers Jack Dann and Gardner Dozois. It was published in 2005, and includes stories on the theme of "beyond singularity" that were originally published from 1960 to 2004, though mostly from the last few years of that range. It is the 33rd book in their anthology series for Ace Books.
The Year's Best Science Fiction: Twenty-First Annual Collection is a science fiction anthology edited by American writer Gardner Dozois, published in 2004. It is the 21st in The Year's Best Science Fiction series. The anthology was published in the UK as The Mammoth Book of Best New Science Fiction 17.
The Year's Best Science Fiction: First Annual Collection is a science fiction anthology edited by Gardner Dozois that was published in 1984. It is the 1st of 35 in The Year's Best Science Fiction series. It is available in the Kindle format.
"Bookworm, Run!" is a science fiction short story by American writer Vernor Vinge. His second published work of fiction, it appeared in Analog Science Fiction Science Fact in 1966, and was reprinted in True Names... and Other Dangers in 1987, and in 2001's The Collected Stories of Vernor Vinge.
The 1973 Annual World's Best SF is an anthology of science fiction short stories edited by Donald A. Wollheim and Arthur W. Saha, the second volume in a series of nineteen. It was first published in paperback by DAW Books in May 1973, followed by a hardcover edition issued in August of the same year by the same publisher as a selection of the Science Fiction Book Club. For the hardcover edition the original cover art of Jack Gaughan was replaced by a new cover painting by William S. Shields. The paperback edition was reissued by DAW in December 1978 under the variant title Wollheim's World's Best SF: Series Two, this time with cover art by Larry Oritz.
The 1976 Annual World's Best SF is an anthology of science fiction short stories edited by Donald A. Wollheim and Arthur W. Saha, the fifth volume in a series of nineteen. It was first published in paperback by DAW Books in May 1976, followed by a hardcover edition issued in August of the same year by the same publisher as a selection of the Science Fiction Book Club. For the hardcover edition the original cover art of Jack Gaughan was replaced by a new cover painting by Chet Jezierski. The paperback edition was reissued by DAW in December 1981 under the variant title Wollheim's World's Best SF: Series FIve, this time with cover art by Oliviero Berni. A British hardcover edition was published by Dennis Dobson in March 1979 under the variant title The World's Best SF 3.
The Proofreaders' Page and Other Uncollected Items was an attempt to collect as many uncollected works by Fredric Brown as possible.
Grimm's World is a 1969 science fiction novel by Vernor Vinge.
Tatja Grimm's World is a 1987 science fiction novel by American author Vernor Vinge.
"Eyes of Amber" is a science fiction short story by American writer Joan D. Vinge. It was first published as the cover story for the June 1977 issue of Analog Science Fiction and Fact.
Women of Wonder, The Classic Years: Science Fiction by Women from the 1940s to the 1970s is an anthology of short stories, novelettes, and novellas edited by Pamela Sargent. It was published in 1995, along a companion volume, Women of Wonder, The Contemporary Years: Science Fiction by Women from the 1970s to the Present.